David Stern stepped on to a slippery slope in fining the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 for sitting Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for a nationally-televised game against the Miami Heat last Thursday. This was not something has drawn even a peep from the league in past years, when late in the season it was becoming a more common practice. Teams now don’t really know where the line is — is it okay to rest stars in Charlotte but not on national television in Miami? How many players can I rest a night?

“The organization agreed they would take away four players, including a 26-year-old and a 30-year-old – their four best players,’’ said Stern…. “And they did it without notifying the league or the media the way they’re supposed to for injury and illness. That, and the totality of all the circumstances, if this wasn’t the appropriate time for exercising the discretion then there would never be an appropriate time. This is not about the coach, I’m fine with Pop…

“This is not about a coaching decision,” Stern said. “This is more about the relationship among our 30 teams and 30 owners.”

I wish Stern just would have been honest here — this was about protecting the interest of the companies that pay billions to broadcast NBA basketball. This was about TNT, and potentially down the line ESPN/ABC. This was about them getting value for their money, not the guy who bought tickets to see Tim Duncan. Because let’s be honest here — nobody buys a ticket to the Heat game in Miami to see Duncan. They came to see LeBron James, and they got to see him have to work for the win.